Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1887-03-05

! of these movements, OF the situation, and
| the frequent relieving of the pickets, with
| the challenges all along the line which !
could distinctly hear, prevented me from
having even those "cat-naps" which the
| situation would have allowed. Sometimes
l walked about and talked with the men
| about the stirring campaign that we had
| thus far seen, and made some wise guesses
about what would happen on the morrow.
| few distant lights seemed only to inten-
sify the darkness. There were q few in
| Strasburg, behind us, others off to the
| right, and some so far off in front of us
that l knew they must be across the river
| and in the enemy's territory. Now occur
red an incident that has always seemed to
me one of the queerest of my whole service.
So far in front of us that the sound could
only have proceeded from the Confederate
right, band began to play. The distance
must have been quite mile; but the night
was still, and the condition Of the atmos-
phere was favorable to the transmission of
| sound. First we heard Bonnie Eloise,"
which some of our bands were accustomed
to play, but in which they did not claim an
! exclusive property. Then my ears were sur
prised by Yankee Doodle" This seemed
strange enough, considering where it come
from; but when, after rafting off Dixie"
the entertainment wound up with John
Brown" l experienced a mild astonsh-
ment. Whether it was harmless bravado,
or what was really meant by such eccen-
tricity, never knew.
Morning came, the great curtain of mist
slowly rolled away up the sides of the
mountain, and the situation was before us
with all its savage grandeur as we'll as pict-
uresque beauty. So remarkable, SO nearly
wonderful were the military events which
attended the close of this day, that
the reader will not deem the little
space wasted in which the theater where
they occurred is described. The Shenan-
doah Valley, twenty miles in width north of
this point, narrows here to q width of four
miles, and right across it, from east to
west, stretches Fishers Hill, until it falls
away at the west to the little North Noun
tain. The hill is simply the abrupt falling
off of the table-land north of it, and as
much of fertilization as if nature had de-
signed il as such. The narrowing of the
valley at this point is caused by the double
chain of mountains thrown out from the
Blue Ridge, making parallel valleys, and
called the Massanutton Ranges. Just be-
low Fishers Hill these ranges terminate
so abruptly as to give the spectator the idea
that he Is gazing upon two or three isolated
mountain peaks. We found ourselves on
the morning of the 22d at the base of these
natural giants, which lowered up fifteen
hundred feet over our heads, while the sill
yer thread of the north fork of the Shenan-
doah wound round their base. Our eyes
turned to the long, high rampant OF Fish
er's Hill. Along its summit were stretched
the lines of Earlys army, rallyinG here
after their defeat. 1t seemed madness to
think of attacking such position as that;
it seemed SO to me, and, / have no doubt,
to thousands of others in our army.
Yet 1T was done, and with triumphant
success! How, will be told further on.
The hours wore on into wild, pleasan.
autumn day. Our position was rather
isolated; the town and the trees and fences,
as well as the inequalities of the ground,
hid whatever hustle and stir there may have
been among the lines of blue which curved
away off TO our right. Major Curtiss visited
us from the reserve of the regiment, in
spected our position, and said he had no
further orders. Our picket-reserve was of
course idle, and naturally inquisitive; and
some of the soldiers discovering large
vineyard near by, a summary contiscation
was made of some bushels of grapes
for the benefit of this part of
the volunteer army. This was all
well and proper; what followed was not
SO much So One of those pushing
and brought it into the reserve in his arms.
One of the colony within stung him, when
he dropped his burden. Instantly the bees
poured out in an angry cloud, and in less
time than it takes TO write it, the whole re-
serve was dispersed with q fair distribution
of stings. -Four of them fell to my lot.
The whole scene was the very height of the
ridiculous. Dozens of men were rolling,
kicking, and slapping ON the ground, others
running as if for life, pursued by the in
furiated insects, and cries of pain mingled
with shrieks of laughter. The nearest
pickets, observing the tumult, naturally
supposed the reserve was attacked Gas III
deed it was), and faced about, ready for a
shot. When the insects had satisfied their
rage upon us luckless New Workers, they
settled in buzzing cloud directly above
the stacks of muskets; and it was full half
an hour before We could regain possession
of our arms. The fellow who was at the
bottom of all this trouble received, am
glad to say, liberal share of the stings;
and as the incident created as much mirth
as pain, he escaped any other punishment.
About the middle of the day, when every
thing wore the most peaceful aspect, an
officer of General Emorvs staff rode up.
"The General directs" he said, that you
open fire from your picket-line. He wants
river show themselves"
l sent two sergeants out to the line, to
60 each way and give the order.
Commence firing; aim anywhere to the
front"
had been studying the ground opposite.
which sloped from the river back to the
mountains; and not observing the least
sign of an enemy there, had concluded
that there was none.
But now, as the lively rattle of our pick
front of half a mile or more, the opposite
side of the river was suddenly awakened to
life. From behind walls and fences, from
clumps of trees, from the doors and win
dows of a brick house, white putfs of
smoke started up, and we heard the hum
ming of bullets about us. The range was
rather long, but not too long for the rihed
musket to kill. Nobody was hit on our
side; how it was on the other side l do not
know. Some of our men in their zeal put
in double cartridges of powder, and got
lame shoulders in consequence. But We
had developed the enemys position oppo
an hour, ordered our pickets to stop.
The afternoon passed. / could see no
signs yet of anything being done. AS it
was afterward learned, what was being
done was with the utmost silence and
secrecy. Sheridan could not fail to observe
that from the gigantic Massanutton's top,
the position of every one of his regiments
and batteries and every move made by